WYD08 - Cross & Icon

Back in 2005, before I moved to Australia, I found out that the next World Youth Day will be happening in Sydney in 2008. And I thought, I have to partake in this momentous and religious event of the Catholic Church.

The World Youth Day was started in 1984 with Pope John Paul II. On the cross, it says:

My dear young people, at the conclusion of the Holy Year, I entrust to you the sign of this Jubilee Year: the Cross of Christ! Carry it throughout the world as a symbol of Christ's love for humanity, and announce to everyone that only in the death and resurrection of Christ can we find salvation and redemption. (His Holiness Pope John Paul II, Rome, 22 April 1984).

The icon was then added in 2003 as a second symbol of faith. Both the cross and icon has travelled and carried by various groups of people all over the world. Last week, I had the honor to carry the cross and the icon on its journey through Australia.